Habas remains cautious ahead of facing bottom-placed Odisha FC...
ATK Mohun Bagan will look to reduce the gap at the top of the table when they take on Odisha in a crucial Indian Super League (ISL) tie on Saturday.
Antonio Habas' side is currently at the second position on the league table and a win against Odisha would reduce their gap to league leaders Mumbai City to three points.
The Spanish coach is in no mood to take rock-bottom side Odisha lightly as he mentioned that he does not consider any ISL side as a small club.
"We have to play in the same way against Odisha as we played against Mumbai City. The competition in ISL is very high and there are no small teams. They have a special situation with the coach out now. But whenever there is a change in team or coach the motivation increases by 20 per cent."
Habas is known for his pragmatic approach and his teams' defensive solidity but Bagan have conceded four goals in their last two games. The Spaniard, however, is more worried about missing key players to injuries than conceding the soft goals
"We can talk about this (conceding goals) when we have a complete squad. Throughout the season we have had problems with injuries above to foreign players. It is very difficult to stick to a fixed lineup in two consecutive matches.
"It is impossible to keep the same level in defence for 20 matches. We did not have a perfect defence in the last two matches but we are improving in the attack. We have to find a balance," Habas opined.
The Spaniard heaped praise on newest recruit Lenny Rodrigues who joined the club on a permanent deal from Goa in the January transfer window and suggested that the midfielder is in very good shape.
"He (Lenny Rodrigues) is a good professional player. I had him in Pune City (2016) so when we got the opportunity to sign him we signed him immediately. For me, he is in good condition and he is improving."
Brazilian attacker Marcelinho who joined the club on loan from Odisha became an instant hit at ATK Mohun Bagan as he scored on his debut against Kerala Blasters.
Hailing the Brazilian's impact on the team, Habas said, "Marcelinho is performing at his level and it is important. He has adapted immediately to the squad and we have more possibility of winning as Marcelinho is a good player."
The ATK Mohun Bagan head coach also confirmed that both Subhasish Bose and Edu Garcia are still nursing their injuries and won't be available for selection.